


ice cold coffee in the morning

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Het, Rare Pair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 15:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8719198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Caitlin doesn't hear footsteps coming up behind her.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [boomersoonerash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boomersoonerash/gifts).



> Theme : technology  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/770441.html?thread=100855433#t100855433  
> Prompt : The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, she inadvertently freezes their coffee maker

Caitlin doesn't hear the footsteps creeping up behind her, doesn't register that there's another person there until it's too late. 

Which later, she knows Barry and Cisco will chide her for, letting herself be distracted, letting all their training of her come to naught. She'll be annoyed at herself too, for being so careless, even if she knows it was only because she's tired, the legacy of too many late nights and early mornings as part of Team Flash catching up with her. She has an excuse, better yet, she has a reason and none of it will matter. 

Because when two hands slide around her waist, she jumps in shock, even shrieks a little and before she knows it, certainly before she can stop it, the coffee maker is coated in ice. 

Damn it, she really needed that cup of coffee this morning too. 

The arms around her waist fall away and she whirls around as Joe takes a giant step back. His hands are raised high in the air, like he's a criminal surrendering and his eyes are wide with shock. She's sure her own are too, at least if the hammering of her heart is anything to go by. "Don't do that! " she orders him, shock ringing in every syllable and his gaze passes by her, lands on the block of ice on the counter. He moves quickly, reaches past her to flick the switch on the socket to turn off the power going to the appliance before unplugging it altogether and she doesn't miss the tremor of his hand. 

"I was trying to be romantic," he tells her and she knows he's shaken by the tone of his voice. "I thought you'd hear me coming down the stairs." 

She shakes her head. "I was miles away," she admits. "I never..." The thought comes to her, sudden and terrible, that it could have been much worse. "I could have..."

"No, you couldn't." His voice is firm suddenly, resolute and he steps forward without hesitation, pulls her into his arms. "You wouldn't have." 

Caitlin buries her head in the crook of his neck, inhales deeply, then does it again and again until she feels better. "I'm going to wear my cuffs in the house from now on," she mutters, because that's something she never does any more, not since she garnered some sense of control over her powers. The cuffs are a safeguard, used during times when she's around non meta human people doing non meta human things, when she's not exactly worried about losing control but when losing control would be a bad thing. She's never worn them here, she's never needed to. 

Not until today. 

Joe puts his hands on her shoulders, pulls back a little at the same time as he moves her away, just enough so that he can see her face. "You don't have to do that," he says, and when she opens her mouth to protest, he continues, "but you do need to take a break. You're exhausted, Caitlin... You can't keep doing this to yourself." 

"Joe, I'm fine..." Except she knows she's not fooling anyone, not even herself. His raised eyebrow in the direction of the coffee maker is proof of that. 

"Right." He massages her shoulders gently. "Look, come home early tonight... I'll cook, tell the kids to stay away. We can have a nice meal, an early night, sleep in tomorrow..." It sounds so nice, so tempting and she feels herself sag against him, almost weak with longing. "Sweetheart, you need this," he tells her and she sighs, gives in to the inevitable without too much struggle. 

"We can get takeout," she says. "Snuggle on the couch while we wait for it." 

He chuckles, deep and low. "It's a date." He hugs her tightly, presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Now, let's go... I'll drop you to work and we can swing by Jitters on the way... I think coffee's on you this morning." 

There's nothing she can say to argue with that, so Caitlin doesn't even try. She does, however, delay their journey by winding her arms around his neck and kissing him, a head start on the night's cuddling, if you will. 

He doesn't seem to have any complaints.


End file.
